Tower packing



May 26, 1953 M, LEVA 2,639,909

TOWER PACKING Filed June 29, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 X IN VEN TOR.

MAX LEVA wW/s.

ATTORNEY M. LEVA TOWER PACKING May 26, 1953 Filed June 29, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG? FIG. IO

INVENTOR.

MAX LEVA EMN ATTORNEY BYW Patented May 26, 953

TOWER PACKING Max Leva, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor to The United States Stonewear Company, a corporation of Ohio Application June 29, 1951, Serial No. 234,289

3 Claims. (01. 261-95) This invention relates to tower packing for gasand liquid-contact apparatus.

Its chief objects are to provide large surface area of the packing elements for a given size of packing element; to assure a large percentage of free space, for large flow capacity, in the randomly dumped bed of packing; to provide uniformity of distribution of the flow space, for avoidance of channelling, whatever may be the method of preparing the packed bed; to provide packing elements adapted to assume adequate interlocking for stability and for avoidance of high pressure against the vertical wall of the tower without excessive obstruction of flow space resulting from the interlocking; and thus to provide low flow resistance, high capacity and high efiiciency for a packing bed of given size.

Of the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a middle cross-section of a packing element embodying my invention in one of its preferred forms.

Fig. 2 is a "section of the same on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a face view of the same as viewed from below with reference to Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a middle cross-section of a modification.

Fig. 5 is a section on line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a middle cross-section of another modification.

Fig. '7 is an end view of still another modification.

Fig. 8 is a section on line 8-8 of Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a side elevation of two of the elements illustrating symmetrically one of numerous classes of relationships which adjacent elements assume with fairly constant frequency in the random arrangement.

Fig. 10 is an end elevation of the same two elements.

Fig. 11 is a side elevation of two elements illustrating symmetrically another one of the classes of frequently occurring relationships.

Fig. 12 is an elevation illustrating symmetrically another of the numerous classes of relationships.

Referring first to the packing element shown in Figs. 1 to 3, its shape is generated by rotation of half-circle arcs having moderately different radii R, and R about the base line or axis X through 180 degrees. Preferably the radius X R of such rotation is substantially greater than, but of the same order as, the radius R Thus the element has the form of one half of the radially inner half of a moderately thinwalled hollow torus, being cross-sectionally concave on its longitudinally convex outer face and cross-sectionally convex on its longitudinally concave inner face.

The element shown in Figs. 4 and 5 corre sponds to that shown in Figs. 1 to 3 except that its edges and corners are rounded, for avoidance of chipping and for more secure shallow-nesting or other interlocking with adjacent elements of the same shape.

The shape of the element shown in Fig. 6 is generated by rotating through degrees, about the axis X, two radially spaced curved generatrices Y and Yl of such curvature or curvatures that in cross-section the element is of decreasing thickness from its middle region toward its side margins.

The two curves Y and Yi can be compound curves of various forms, such as elliptical, parabolic and hyperbolic, or can be circular arcs, preferably half -circles or less, but with the radius of Y, the farther of the two from the axis X, greater than the radius of Yl, the closer one to the axis X.

In Figs. 7 and 8 the element is shown as being formed with a longitudinally extending strengthening rib H) at the middle of its transversely concave outer face, with transverse strengthening ribs II, II at the ends of that face, and with a transversely extending strengthening rib I2, at the middle of its longitudinally concave inner face.

In one of the many classes of shallowly nested or interlocked relationships frequently assumed by adjacent ones of the elements, Figs. 9 and 10 show the two in symmetrical relationship but typifies the whole class, in which, with variations from symmetry, the transversely narrow inner peripheral part of one of the elements shallowly nests, at one or both of its ends only, within the outwardly flared channel of the other element.

Fig. 11 typifies another class of relationships in which, with variations from the symmetry of Fig. 11, in which the transversely convex, longitudinally concave, faces of the two elements engage each other.

Fig. 12 typifies another class of relationships, in which the two elements are crossed, with the longitudinally convex side margins of the lower element shallowly nesting in the outwardly open channel of the upper element.

While Figs. 9 to 12 represent only three major classes of relationships, it will be manifest that there is an infinitude of possible relationships and yet without excessive natural selectivity in favor of one or another relationship such as to result in non-uniform distribution of flow space, and with, as to every possible relationship, a large amount of flow space provided between each of the elements and the next. No deep nesting of one of the elements in another is possible. Even if two of tlre'elements arrange themselves with the side margin of one in the channel of the other, and with the same orientation of the two then back-to-back elements, there is very little obstruction of the channel just mentioned, because of the opposite directions of longitudinal curvature of the two contacting areas, and because of the greater Width of the channelas compared with the thickness of the said side margin of the other element.

Various modifications, and especially difierences of degree, are possible without sacrifice of all of the advantages set out in the above statement of objects and without departure from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A tower-packing element having a general shape that is a segment of an inner-peripheral portion of a hollow torus, with respect to the axis of generation of the torus, said element having at each of its ends an arcuate end-edge face that lies substantially in a plane that is radial with relation to the said axis of said torus, with the said axis also lying substantially in the plane of the respective arcuate end-edge face, the margins of the element that are farthest from the said axis being substantially circular arcs with their centers at said axis.

2. A tower-packing element as defined in claim 1 and of substantially 180 degrees in extent longitudinally.

3. A tower-packing element as defined in claim 1 and of substantially 180 degrees in extent transversely, throughout the length of the element.

MAX LEVA.

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